Guard-rail clamp



May 27, 1924. 1,495,392

OH. BATSON GUARD RAIL CLAMP Filed Jan. 14. 1924 FIGIB FIGIQ- PIGIE FIG'Ea. .T 24 lg G -41. 1 1

2o 6 Z 5,7 23 H INVENTOR.

CHARLES 1-1. BATSUH ATTORNEYJ' Patented May 27, 1924.

CHARLES H. IBA'ISON, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

GUARD-BAIL CLAMP.

Application filed January 14, 1924. Serial No. 686,165.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. BATSON, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guard-RailClamps, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to rail guards or in other wordsshort sections of rails having outtnrned opposite ends which arecommonly placed along and in spaced relation to main railway rails opposite switch frogs or in other places where it may develop that dangerexists of the wheels slipping laterally from the rails, and the primaryobject of my invention is to provide means whereby switch guard railsand those portions of the main rails adjacent to the guard rails may bequickly and effectively secured in place and clamped in the desiredspaced relation and thereafter maintained in their connected relationwith little if any danger of accidental displacement.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a tie plateespecially adapted to the connection of main and guard rails as well asone which may be easily and quickly applied and will be effective at alltimes for the intended purposes.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates my present invention andforms a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the practical application of myinvention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of a section of main rail and itsguard rail connected in accordance with my invention,

Figures 3 and i are respectively a top plan and side view of one of thesections of my improved tie plate,

Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a top plan and a side view of the othersection of my improve-d tie plate,

Figure 7 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially on line 77of Figure 2, and

Figure 8 is a partial vertical transverse section taken substantially online 8-8 of Figure 2.

Referring now to these figures and particularly to Figure 1 I have shownby way of example use of a guard rail 10 adjacent to one of the mainrails 11 opposite a switch frog generally indicated at 12, and acrossties 13 upon which my improved tie plates generally indicated at 14 inthis figure are applied so as to efi'ectively'unite and connect theguard and main rails 10 and 11 in their properly spaced relation.

The guard rail 10 is show-n in Figures 1 and guard rails, as indicatedin dotted linesin Figure 2.

Each of the tieplates generally indicated at lt in Figure 1 and bettershown in Fig ures 2, 7 and 8 as well as in detail in Figures 3 to 6inclusive, consists of a section 16 having a lengthwise slotted body ofwhich the slot 17 opens through one end forming side portions 18 and isprovided atits inner end with a beveled wall 19. This section of the tieplate has spike receiving apertures 20 at both ends and adjacent totheir free ends, the side portions 18 are provided with upstanding lugs21 shaped to extend over the base of the guard rail and against the webof the rail continuously from its base to its head as particularly seenby reference to Figure 7. I p

The other section 22 of the tie plate-shown in Figures 5 and 6, has aspike receiving aperture 23 at one end and is shaped to interfit theslot 17 of section 16 and is provided at its opposite end with a beveledend surface 24: and with an upstanding lug 25 of similar shape to thelugs 21, adapted to extend over the base of the main rail 11 and againstthe web of the rail continuously from its base to its head as clearlyseen in Figure 7.

The relatively engaging beveled surfaces 19 and 24 of the sections 16and 22 of each tie plate thus serve, when pressure is applied upon themain rail as by the passing of rolling stock thereover, to force the twotie plate sections in such direction as to move their oppositely facingmain and guard rail engaging lugs 21 and 25 toward one another intoespecially tight clamping engagement with the rails which the tie platesare intended to connect, the rails being clamped together withinterposed members adapted to maintain the same in properly spaced relation.

The spacing members just above referred to are in accordance with myinvention in the form of complementary wedge members 26 and 27 placedopposite each tie plate or in other words in line with the relativemovement of the two sections of each tie plate, each pair ofcomplementary wedge members having their inclined relatively engagingfaces vertically corrugated or ribbed whereby they may be drivenrelatively to one another into the desired active position andthereafter held in such position against danger of accidentaldisplacement by virtue of the clamping of the rails against the spacingwedges.

My invention thus provides a main and guard rail connection adapted notonly to properly space the rails but to clamp the same in connectedrelation, as well as a conuection which will be effective and efficientat all times and whose effectiveness is increased when greatestefficiency is needed or in other words when rolling stock is passingover that section of the main rail to which the guard rail is applied.

I claim:

1. A main rail and a guard rail therefor, having spacing memberstherebetween and a connecting clamp, the latter in the form of a tieplate including a pair of interfitting clamping sections havingoppositely facing rail engaging lugs, said sections of said tie platealso having relatively engaging in clined surfaces acting to draw therail engaging lugs toward one another when pressure is applied upon themain rail so as to increase the clamping pressure against the railsthrough said spacing members.

2. A main rail and a guard rail therefor, having spacing wedgestherebetween whose inclined engaging faces are ribbed, and

clamping means clamping the rails together through said spacing wedges,in the form of tie plates, each tie plate including a pair ofinter-fitting clamping sections having oppo sitely facing lugs engagingthe main and guard rails and also having relatively engaging inclinedsurfaces acting to shift the lugs toward one another when pressure isapplied downwardly upon the main rail as described.

3. A main rail and a guard rail therefor having spaced memberstherebetween and a connecting clamp, the latter in the form of a tieplate including a pair of clamping sections one of which is slottedalong its center and through one end, said section being provided withan inclined wall at the inner end of its said slot and with upstandingrail engaging lugs adjacent to the free ends of its side portions, theother section interi'itting the slot of the first section having aninclined wall at one end engageable with the inclined wall at the innerend of the slot of the first section and also having adjacent the saidend wall an upstanding rail engaging lug facing opposite to the lugs ofthe first section When the two sections are to gether.

4:. A main rail and a guard rail therefor, having spacing memberstherebetween and a connecting clamp, the latter in the form of a tieplate including a pair of inter-fitting clamping sections, one sectionhaving a lug engaging one of said rails and the other sec tion havinglugs engaging the other rail, said plates having relatively engaginginclined portions tending to draw the rail engaging lugs toward oneanother when pressure is applied upon the main rail.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

CHARLES H. BATSQN.

